Connecticut Opposes New York ‘Commuter Tax’

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says the state of Connecticut is “absolutely opposed” to the Manhattan borough president’s proposal to restore a tax for suburbanites who commute to New York City.

The governor told reporters on Wednesday that he suspects Scott Stringer “is blowing off a little steam” with his proposal, and predicted it would not pass. Malloy said if such a tax were reinstated, it would be “ruinous” for New York, saying Connecticut benefitted in the past from businesses moving out of New York.

Stringer told The New York Times that restoring the tax could generate $725 million each year for regional mass transit. That estimate is based on a tax rate of .45 percent for most commuters, the same rate the tax was before it was eliminated in 1999.